US formally sounds out Korean yards on building navy warships
Pentagon RFIs to HD Hyundai and Hanwha mark a first under the MASGA pact
The Pentagon and the US Navy have formally approached South Korea's biggest shipbuilders about building combat vessels, in a first step under the Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA) partnership.
Requests for information went to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean, both of which submitted destroyer design and construction data last month, while all three major yards, including Samsung Heavy Industries, responded to a separate request on medium-sized oilers. Hanwha confirmed it had responded; the other two declined to comment. The approach is the first since MASGA launched in August 2025, under which Seoul pledged $150bn within a wider $350bn US package.
Korean yards have been building US footholds: Hanwha bought Philly Shipyard for $100m, HD Hyundai partnered with Huntington Ingalls, and Samsung teamed with General Dynamics NASSCO. A long-standing amendment restricts building US Navy ships abroad. The US Navy is aiming to grow its fleet from 295 vessels at the end of 2024 to 381 by 2054, requiring some 364 new ships at around 12 a year and roughly $40bn annually.
